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 efining
your personal mission is an effective strategy for
bringing a sense of purpose to your life and work.
Andrea
Kay is an author, a syndicated columnist, and a
career consultant. She's a prime example of this
approach.
Her
personal mission led her to start her dream business.
While she was trying to figure out her own career
path, she discovered that many people were unhappy
or confused about their careers. As a result, she
made it her personal and professional mission to
apply her strengths as a writer and public speaker
to help others find their true paths and, as she
says, "to discover their potential and create a
plan to get there."
Today,
she works with people who feel unappreciated, misunderstood,
overworked, or underpaid, or who are unhappily employed
or unemployed to "discover what they can do and
how to get it."
Acknowledging
Your Mission
A few years ago, I was rummaging through old
boxes at my mother's house and found a piece of
paper that was a writing assignment from the seventh
grade. In response to the question "What do you
want to be when you grow up," I had written, "I
want to be a writer so I can touch people's lives."
Throughout
school, writing had been my hobby, something I did
on the side. Then I left college in my fourth year
and began working, first as a waitress and then
as a secretary at a "temp" agency. Next, I took
a job in the music business, starting as an office
manager and then progressing to jobs as an assistant
and as a public relations coordinator. In 1994,
I ran a nonprofit organization. The next year, I
started an Internet company; I ran it for five years.
During
this entire time, I had dreams of being a published
writer. But, I never took the steps necessary to
make my dreams a reality. In fact, until I found
that piece of paper in a box at my mother's house,
I didn't even remember having written down my lifelong
dream.
Seeing
my dream on paper was very powerful to me. Suddenly,
my dream - my lifelong mission -
felt real and attainable simply because I saw it
in print.
Subconsciously,
even before I had found the piece of paper, I was
trying to create openings in my life for my writing.
For example, in 1995, in order to publicize my Internet
company on a shoestring budget, I offered to write
articles for a local newspaper about the Internet.
I began to publish my own writing online as early
as 1992, before the Web, and I even won an online
poetry contest in 1994.
How
did I manage to avoid my lifelong dream for so long?
Why did I make career choices that deviated from
my deepest goal? I can't really say, but luckily,
I broke the pattern that was keeping me away from
writing and eventually got my first book deal, ironically
because of the success of my Internet business.
Developing
a Mission
Orit, president and CEO of The O Group (www.ogroup.net),
built her company from a one-person design shop
15 years ago into a full-service marketing communications
firm.
Orit
states that, throughout the entire process, she
has always adhered to her mission, which is expressed
in her personal and professional mission statement:
"Live and work with a passion about what you're
doing - always doing the best work you
can, being the most creative you can be, and always
enjoying and learning from the process."
Arriving
at this all-encompassing mission happened at a young
age for Orit.
When
she was a teenager, Orit didn't feel she belonged.
In her mind, the other girls at school were always
prettier and smarter, and they seemed to know what
they wanted. Orit felt she was really at odds with
who and what she would become, because she didn't
want what anyone else wanted. One day at school,
she convinced her art teacher to let her focus on
a project that she could not get out of her head,
and it was then that she believes she "found herself"
and her passion, although she did not fully realize
it at the time.
The
idea of formalizing her mission statement wasn't
a natural process for Orit.
"Until
you hear, read and listen to other people talking
about missions, I don't really think you think much
about what a mission is," she says. "The formal
process came (as I was) asked by different people
what my mission was. I was then able to easily verbalize
it, knowing it was something that had been a part
of me forever."
"Don't
be intimidated if you can't define your (mission)
just yet. Give yourself time to grow and learn,
and it will come," Orit concludes.
A
Motto for Your Mission
A mission or vision statement can take the form
of a personal motto, making it short, catchy and
easy to remember.
Jill
Harrison, president and founder of Isole Development
(www.isole.com),
makers of handmade Italian leather luggage, says
her mission statement is simple: "Success is the
only option."
Donna
Crafton, co-founder and vice president of public
relations for LH3 Inc. (www.lh3.com),
lives by the motto "It's All About Me." Some people
might think her motto is arrogant, but she believes
the statement has a deeper meaning and incredible
power. Saying or thinking about her motto makes
Crafton feel empowered.
"Nearly
every day, I reaffirm my commitment to this statement,"
she says. "It just applies and rings true so often
for me."
Donna
believes that by being true to herself, she can
then be true to the people and the work that is
important to her.
Creating
a motto that articulates your personal mission means
summing up how you live your life or how you want
to live your life, ascribing to an inner belief
or tenet that you believe in firmly and completely.
Your
motto should be catchy, easy to say, easy to remember,
and meaningful. All of those qualities have to fit
into one sentence - preferably not a run-on
sentence. Think sound bite. Think short and sweet.
Yes, you can "adopt" an existing motto and make
it your own, as long as you take it seriously and
strive to live by it.
Examples
of mottos include: "Live life to its fullest." "Act
with intent." "Make time for me each day." "Trust
my gut." "Never kick myself when I'm down." "My
work must be compatible with my heart." "Stop and
smell the roses."
Once
you have your motto, display it:
- Save
it as the default screensaver on your computer.
- Put
it in a stylish font, and then have it printed
on good paper and framed to hang on your office
wall.
- Make
buttons or t-shirts with your motto on them. Wear
them, and give them away to friends, family and
work colleagues.
- Have
it engraved onto metal or stone or burned into
wood, and hang it on your wall or keep on your
desk as a paperweight.
Whatever
creative idea you have for displaying your motto,
make sure it is something you'll actually take the
time to act on. Your motto should be like a mantra.
Say it to yourself often, and it will give you focus
and direction.
Giving
Back
Having a mission is one thing. Finding ways
to create a company or part of your company that
"does good" can be as challenging as it is fulfilling.
The adage "doing well by doing good" is something
to live and work by.
There
are two parts to the idea of giving back that are
essential to keep in mind.
When
you hear the words "give back," do you automatically
think of giving something back to your community
or giving to charity? There is another equally important
aspect of "giving back" - the act of giving
back to yourself. Even in business, whether out
of sheer focus or sheer neglect, women tend to be
selfless or to ignore themselves until both they
and their business suffer. Don't let that happen
to you.
Imagine
having a business where you are totally fulfilled,
challenged and stimulated, and you are able to do
good things that have a positive effect on the world.
If you asked Gabrielle Melchionda about the underlying
philosophy of her company Mad Gabs (www.madgabs.com),
producers of all natural lip and body balms, she'd
point to her company's Web site and mission. Part
of her company's mission statement reads: "To create
jobs for people in my community (myself included),
and for local shelters who employ folks with a variety
of emotional and physical challenges."
True
to her mission, Mad Gab's employs developmentally
and physically challenged adults to label and shrinkwrap
their products. Mad Gab's takes good care of its
employees, offering flex time, job sharing, health
insurance, and soon, profit-sharing. Also in the
works are pension plans and paid volunteer time.
"We
are succeeding because we love what we do, we have
a vision in common, and we are having fun at work,"
Melchionda says. "It feels right, we do good things,
make great products, and the rest just seems to
happen. We call it the magic of Mad Gab's."
Choosing
a Cause
There are many excuses not to give to charities.
They include:
- "I
can't figure out what organization I should give
to."
- "I
have no money."
- "I
have no time."
- "How
do I know my money is doing any good or is being
used for what they claim?"
What
do you believe in? What do you feel strongly about?
Identifying a cause that matches your values and
interests is a way to strengthen your own identity.
Doing
your online search for "nonprofit organizations"
will lead to pages and pages of possibilities. Narrowing
your search by looking for "nonprofit, animals"
or "nonprofit, girls" or "nonprofit, environment,
North Carolina" can help you pinpoint a specific
organization that may strike a chord with you.
You
do not have to be rich to give. Even $5 or $10 each
month to a local charity adds up to $60 or $120
per year. If 100 businesswomen did the same thing,
that organization could expect between $6,000 and
$12,000 that year. For small organizations, that
could actually be half of their entire annual income
or half the annual salary for one of their paid
staff member.
None
of us feel we have time. But, even one hour each
month could mean more to a local organization or
a person in need than you can ever imagine. Go online
to a site like VolunteerMatch.com (www.volunteermatch.org)
and find organizations that match not only your
interests, but also the parameters of the commitment
you are willing to make.
If
you are concerned about whether or not your money
is actually being used for what an organization
claims, make sure you work with nationally or locally
known groups. Ask around before you open your checkbook.
You
can see the impact of your money if you contribute
to smaller, local groups where you can visit their
site and see your money at work. When you give,
you also can specify how you want your donation
to be spent. You can give in-kind donations, such
as giving your old computer to a local charity and
scheduling time to show them how to hook it up and
operate it.
Living
and working by a mission and giving back as a rule,
not as an exception, will bring you wealth and rewards
in business and in life.
ALIZA
SHERMAN is an Internet pioneer, an online marketing
expert, a published author, an international speaker,
and a regular contributor to national magazines
and Web sites. Her work is featured at www.mediaegg.com.
She can be contacted at scramble@mediaegg.com.
(This
article is reprinted from the Fall 2003 edition
of Enterprising Women magazine. Copyright
2003, Enterprising Women Inc. Reproduction in whole
or part is prohibited, except by permission of the
publisher.)
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